The café wasn't busy. The street outside was teeming with office workers headed out at the end of their workday, but most of them were in a rush to get home rather than stop by for a snack or a cup of coffee.
I used to be just like that.
Weiwei felt left behind, a spectator in the whirlwind of the everyday life. Only the other day she was one of them, one of those busy bees with defined schedules for the day, a set of milestones to hit: wake up on time, catch the bus on time, get to work on time, manage to eat lunch, finish your day's assignments by the end of working hours, catch the bus again, eat some dinner, try to get enough sleep, and start over.
Now, Weiwei felt empty. She didn't have to rush anywhere: she didn't have work to go to, she didn't have anyone or anything waiting for her at home; she could spend hours picking at her lunch—she was a free woman, if only jobless and with very little money left.
Ruxuan walked in and quickly surveyed the place.
"Hey, sister," she waved to Weiwei. "How's life treating you? You don't look cheerful."
What is there to be cheerful about? Being alone? Not having a job?
"Hi Ruxuan, I'm good. I just miss the office," said Weiwei.
Ruxuan sat down across from her. "I don't know if that's something I'd miss. What's there to miss? Same old, same old," she glanced at Weiwei. "I mean, same but less exciting without you there."
Weiwei smiled wryly. "Really?"
"Very sterile. You were our little blooming flower, always cheered me up. I lead a pretty boring existence now."
It's funny how we're talking about it as if it's been ages. When in fact it's only the second day since I got fired.
"Oh, by the way, I got your cactus," said Ruxuan, getting a tiny potted plant wrapped in bubble wrap out of a bag she had with her. "I hope it'll make you feel better and remind you of me and the office." She waved her arm. "Not to remind you that you're not there anymore, but as a good memory."
Weiwei nodded. "I understand."
Ruxuan looked at Weiwei with warmth and pity.
"Anyway, I wanted to tell you that if you need anything in the meantime, for example, if you need to borrow a little, just let me know. No, no, no," she quickly raised her hand seeing that Weiwei was about to protest. "I mean it! I'll help you in any way I can because you've been nice to me and I know you'd definitely do that for me."
She's right about that.
"Thanks," said Weiwei. "I really appreciate it."
"And you'll actually tell me, if you need anything, right?" insisted Ruxuan.
Oh, Ruxuan. You're the first coworker who wants to return my kindness.
"Yes," she said.
Ruxuan smiled a content smile.
"Tell me, has there been any more noise about the Lántiān Group affair?"
"You haven't heard?" Ruxuan's eyes widened. "It's becoming a huge scandal. Lántiān publicly accused TTT of violating auditing standards, there's a lot of chatter online about it. I've overheard the managers saying other customers are now very concerned about bad publicly, and some are thinking of switching to other firms. It's a mess!"
Weiwei felt even worse.
And that's all my doing! Why did it have to blow up like this! And what about Qi? It's going to be really hard for him to deal with the problem his grandpa sent him to solve now.
"Sounds pretty bad," she said. "Be careful over there, and ping me every once in a while about things."
Ruxuan smiled. "Don't you worry, I will. You're such a nice person, Weiwei. TTT fired you, yet you still care about what happens to them and to us. If I were you, I'd sue them instead. Or at least curse them as much as I could."
Weiwei chuckled sadly. "What would change if I cursed them? Nothing. The thing is, Ruxuan, it's not even about TTT firing me. As far as I can tell, TTT was right about Lántiān Group. So, Lántiān attacking TTT and spreading all these bad rumors tells me that something fishy is going on with them. They are the rotten egg, so I'd feel bad if TTT paid the price for someone else's failures."
Ruxuan shook her head. "I don't know what to tell you. There is no one else at the firm who works on Lántiān files. No one would know the truth."
"Are you sure other partners aren't following up?"
"I don't know," said Ruxuan. "I'll let you know if I hear anything."
"Well, say hi to the others, and hang in there."
"Don't say it as if we're not going to see each other again," smiled Ruxuan. "I'll see you soon. Don't even think of getting rid of me so easily."
Weiwei was touched.
"Thanks, Ruxuan," she said. "Even though we didn't get to know each other better, I feel like we're friends."
"Of course, we are! No doubt about that!" exclaimed Ruxuan. "You're a little angel, Weiwei. Who wouldn't want to be friends with you!"
They waved each other goodbye, and Ruxuan rushed out.
Most people think otherwise…